The Sound of Silence
by FreeSpiritSeeker
Summary: Mina has just arrived in Forks with her family. She immediately notices something is up with her new neighbors, the mysterious Cullen family. Now there's a romance sparking with dreamy Gabriel Cullen. What will Mina think when she finds out their secret?
1. Chapter 1

"I want to go home." I complained to my parents.

My mom simply sighed. "This is home now, dear. Get used to it."

"Never!" I whispered. I groaned and looked out the window at the grey clouded sky. And then down to the forest that surrounded our new house. Everything was either green or grey. I was instantly depressed. Don't get me wrong, I love the color green, but this was just an excessive amount of green.

My dad loped over to the car, jangling the keys in his hand. The door to the house now stood open and waiting for us to carry our things inside. I looked over my shoulder to see my baby brother, Eric, strapped into his baby seat. He saw me looking and gurgled happily, waving a set of plastic keys at me. I grinned and signed to him. "Pretty baby." He giggled and I grinned.

Eric had been born deaf, he'd inherited it from mom's side of the family. Both of her parents were deaf, and all three of us signed as easily as we spoke aloud. It made me sad, sometimes, knowing that my beautiful baby brother would never hear the sounds of the world around him. I'd cried so many times thinking of that when I'd held him, unconsciously humming to him or singing to him, knowing that even as I did so, he'd never hear my voice. Mom was a teacher for deaf children, she would be able to teach him how to talk, but ..well, it just wasn't the same.

Mom and Dad unloaded boxes while i kept Eric entertained, walking with him around the yard. Finally mom came and got us, and took Eric from me. I grabbed a soda from the fridge and headed upstairs, to my room. I looked out my window at the mountain range beyond it and sighed. At least I'd gotten the room with the good view. Something flashed in the trees, but I couldn't make out what it was. I was tired, maybe I was even imagining things now. I wondered how long it took to become crazy from boredom?

I began to unpack slowly, putting books and movies on my shelf, above my tv/dvd combo. I tacked a few blown-up photographs I'd taken in Iowa on a trip when I was a sophomore. On my desk, my laptop stood open, soothing classical music playing softly from it, and I nearly jumped when it "dinged" to let me know that I had an Instant Message. I opened it to see that it was from my friend Denise.

**DeviousDenise**:

_Mina! I miss you! :'(  
Come Back to me!_

_Love you girl. Gotta go now, Mom's screeching. _

I sighed, she'd logged on and off before I even had a chance to respond. I really hated when she did that. I wrote back, knowing she'd get the offline message next time she logged on.

**MinaHarker01**:

_I miss you too, DevDen._

_I'd be there right now if I could. _

_Love you too. *hugs*_

I felt the tears escape before I could stop them. Giving in, I pushed the laptop out of the way and laid my head down on the desk and let myself cry. When I'd finally cried myself out, I pulled fresh sheets and pillowcases out of a box, made up my bed, and pulled a quilt over it all. I stepped into the adjoining bathroom, into the shower and let the hot water pound me until I felt like I could relax enough to sleep. I put on fresh underwear and bra. A comfortable, but enormous, sleepshirt completed my sleeping apparel. I snuggled under the warm quilt and let sleep welcome me into it's open arms.

Morning came, bringing the scent of fresh rain with it. I opened my eyes, blinded by the sun. I looked at the clock, stunned at the time. Oh Shit! I was gonna be late! I went to get out of bed, then fell, my feet tangled up in the blanket and sheet. I slammed my knee on the flooring, whimpering in pain and cursing. I threw on the first clothing I could find, an old worn pair of jeans and a black shirt with a picture of Tinkerbell on it. I clipped my hair back, half in a loose bun, half hanging down my back, brushing the top of my jeans. I ran to brush my teeth, slicked on some chapstick and headed downstairs.

Mom sat at the table feeding Eric. She grinned when she saw me. "Morning, sweetheart. Meet Gabriel. He goes to Forks High too, with his brothers and sisters. Your dad works with his dad. He's going to drive you to school since I've got so much to take care of before work and taking Eric to the sitter's." I think my jaw dropped when I noticed the boy sitting beside her. He looked like the angel Gabriel from the enormous Bible my grandparents had in their sitting room. "Gabriel Cullen." He smiled, holding his hand out for me to shake.

"Um. Hi." I think my brain had stopped working. I blushed tomato-red and took his hand, marveling at the smoothness of it. It was strangely lovely, almost marble-like in it's perfection, and like marble,strangely chilled. He pulled it back after just a second. Then grinned.

"Welcome to Forks."


	2. Chapter 2

Gabriel escorted me out to a car that sat idling in the driveway. I couldn't believe the chill in the air considering it was already May, so I was extremely glad of the warmth of the car's interior when I sat down inside. I watched as he carefully backed out of the driveway and began to drive towards the high school.

"So…"I began, unsure of what to say to this slightly intimidating person. He seemed so calm and cool that I honestly was almost afraid to talk to him. But I gathered my courage and forced out a quick "You have brothers and sisters?"

He smirked slightly and nodded. "Yep."

I wanted to roll my eyes so badly, but I managed to control myself. "Are you the oldest?"

"No, Emmett and Jasper are older. So are Rose and Alice. Edward and I are the same age, seventeen." He glanced over at me. I noticed his eyes were a strange amber color. They were quite a contrast against his pale skin and shaggy almost-black hair.

Then he flicked on the radio, effectively silencing the conversation. I huffed quietly and settled back in the seat. Within minutes we were at the school. Angry, I grabbed my jacket and bag. I opened the door and as we exited the car I turned to him. "Look, I'm sure you just picked me up and everything to be neighborly. I don't care if you did it on your own or because your parents asked you to or what, but I don't need anyone for a pity-drive, so you can just completely forget that you drove me, I'll freaking walk home, but I won't accept a ride from you. Have a nice freaking day, you jackass!" and I stomped off towards the office, leaving behind a rather surprised-looking Gabriel.

Once in the office, I was given my schedule. I groaned when I saw that the day started with Math and ended with Gym. This was truly going to suck, I was horrible at math. And Gym…well, let's just say that flat, stable surfaces are my friend. Anything more complicated than walking across a smooth uncluttered floor sent me sprawling into a heap. I thanked the lady behind the desk and started for the Math room, a schedule and a transfer paper that each teacher needed to sign clenched in my hand.

The instant I stepped outside the office door, a downpour of rain began. I muttered a heartfelt "Well, that's just perfect!" I groaned when I realized I didn't have an umbrella, and my tshirt and jeans were hardly up to this kind of rain, I'd be soaked in half a second. I heard a giggle and looked up to glare at a small black-haired girl. And then my eyes went wide in surprise when she danced up beside me and shared her umbrella. "Um. Thanks." I said quietly.

She giggled again. "Hi. I'm Alice. You must be the new girl. I have a feeling we're gonna be great friends!"


	3. Chapter 3

It turned out that I had several classes with Alice, and she was quite happy to escort me to the ones we didn't have together. Noting my worry that she would be late, she explained that she was an excellent student, and that once she told the teachers she was helping out "the new girl" none of them had even said a word.

Several times during the morning, I noticed Alice get a strange dreamy expression on her face, and then she'd either grin or frown. When I asked her about it, she'd simply smile and say that she had too active of an imagination and had a tendency to daydream. I nodded, but something didn't quite ring true.

When the bell rang for lunch, Alice led me to a table. Her brothers and sisters, and her boyfriend, Jasper, would be there shortly, she'd said. We went through the line and got our food and sat down. Alice asked me about my life, why we'd moved, about my family and if I had a boyfriend. I had to laugh at how eager her face became when I told her no, no boyfriend.

"My brother's single!" She said, trying to act casual. I blushed and laughed again. I teasingly asked if he was cute and she let out a long peal of giggles. "If I wasn't completely devoted to my Jasper and if he wasn't my brother…"

And then a voice I'd never wanted to hear again for a very long, long time came from behind me. "Who's your friend, Alice?"

I turned in shock to find Gabriel standing behind me. We both instanly glared at each other. "That's your brother?" I grated out to Alice.

She nodded, a small smile still visible at the corners of her mouth. "I take it you two have met?"

I rolled my eyes. "For all I care, he can stay single. I'll see you later, Alice." I said, taking my tray to the garbage can and dumping it all except for the soda. I carried that with me outside to the benches and sat down, not minding the wet. I pulled a small notebook from my bag and sat there, sketching a view of the mountains.

I wasn't very surprised when a few seconds later, a small body thumpedonto the bench beside me. "He's really not so bad, ya know?" Alice said, and I could hear a light grumble in her voice. I smiled at her eagerness to have me hook up with Gabriel.

"I'll try and remember that, next time he's ignoring me completely," I laughed. We moved on to other, better topics, like clothes and shopping…I laughed aloud when her eyes lit up at a mention of a shopping expedition to Seattle soon. When the bell rang signaling the end of lunch, I was back in high spirits, and ready-or so I thought-for the afternoon of classes.


	4. Chapter 4

Unfortunately the afternoon didn't progress with the same good feel as the morning classes had passed with. I trudged through the halls, highly surprised when a tall young man greeted me by name. "Hi, I'm Jasper, Alice's boyfriend." He seemed strangely pale, and yet was still quite good looking. Not the knock-out gorgeous of Gabriel, but handsome in his own, slightly pained-looking way.

"Oh! Hi! Nice to meet you! I'm Mina!" I took the hand he held out and shook it, slightly surprised at the coolness of it, but I shrugged it off.

"Alice saw on your schedule that you have Spanish this next hour like I do and thought you might like an escort. If that's ok with you, of course?"

"Oh, yeah, that'd be great! I have no idea where I'm going." I said and allowed him to guide me through the maze of walkways to the Spanish room. I was lucky enough to find myself seated near Jasper, who smiled softly at me before our attentions were otherwise taken by Mrs. Goff, the Spanish teacher. The Spanish was more rote than anything to me, as I had been in a slightly more advanced class in my old school. I was still able to sketch small scenes along the side of my notebook as I took notes.

I looked up and blushed when I noticed Jasper staring interestedly at the sketches. "Hobby" I mouthed to him when Mrs. Goff's back was turned. He nodded, but still watched as the pictures flowed forth from my hand, as I shaded and strengthened lines, forming an image of the Fork's High mascot, the Spartan. I smiled as I finished the feathery top of his helmet just as the bell rang.

For some reason, I wasn't surprised to find Alice waiting outside the classroom. She quickly tucked herself under Jasper's arm and smiled at me. I couldn't help smiling back at her, and was happy that she and Jasper were nice enough to walk me to Gym.

Sadly, even on my best days, I don't do well with Gym. Once again, I began to feel sorry for myself, and sorrier that Alice wasn't in the class with me. She at least would have made it bearable, if for no other reason than watching the little pixie battle it out trying to get a ball to go flying over a net and onto the other side. A feat, I'm sad to say, that I did not manage even once in all six rounds of volleyball we played. I bet even Alice would have gotten it once!

After a quick shower and change, I stood out in the hall, waiting for Alice and Jasper. I half-walked, half-ran to them when I saw them, strangely happy once again. Just as I reached them, my shoelace came untied and I tripped, crying out as I watched the pavement coming upward to meet me. I flung my hands out to stop myself and waited for the pain.


	5. Chapter 5

It never came. Instead I heard a slight chuckle and felt a pair of arms grip me around the waist.

"Easy does it." Came a soft voice and I cringed as I recognized it.

"Aww hell," I muttered under my breath. I could have sworn I heard a chuckle as Gabriel pretty much lifted me to my feet. I sighed and slowly raised my eyes to meet those dark golden ones, lit with humor, so very different from the ones darkened with some unknown emotion this morning. I was amazed at how even more beautiful it made his face seem. He was absolutely stunningly beautiful. Dammit. I wanted to hate him for this morning and now I could only stare at him, slackjawed and stupid.

"Hi." He said. "I wanted to apologize about this morning. My mom had kind of forced me to go and pick you up and I took it out on you. Alice bitc-told me that I'd been unbearably rude, and she was right. So, can we start over? Hi, I'm Gabriel Cullen." He held out his hand. I took it, brain still frozen, and he shook it. I reacted to the chill of his hand with a frown and he immediately dropped it. "Sorry, bad circulation. My hands are always ice-cold."

"Mina Harker." I said, smiling shyly at him.

"Mina Harker…as in Stoker?" He asked, one eyebrow quirked up.

I nodded. "My parents have a horrible sense of humor. They were both obsessed with Dracula and vampires and stuff like that. They met in a Stoker discussion group. Mom loved that Dad's name was Jonathan Harker." I sighed. "Got married, got pregnant with me and decided to stick me with the name 'Wilhemina'." I faux-gagged.

"I can see why you go with 'Mina'." He grinned.

"So..does it ever do anything but rain here?" I asked. I had been amazed at the bright sunshine when I'd first woken this morning, and it had saddened me how quickly it had faded and become drizzly and grey.

He laughed. "You picked the wrong state for sunshine. We get rain and/or snow for most of the year here interspersed with an occassional day of sunshine. In fact, the sun this morning rather surprised me. I have a slight…sensitivity to sunshine, I should have checked with Al..the weatherman before I went out today. But I left earlier than usual and didn't catch the weather."


	6. Chapter 6

By this time, Alice and Jasper had wandered over to us and I could see from Alice's grin that she was hoping this would turn into something. I wanted to throw something at her when she giggled and wrapped her arm around me. "Told you he wasn't all bad." I did the only thing I could. I sighed and nodded. "Yes, Alice. I'll remember that in the future."

The final bell of the day rang and I could hear the stampeding herd of students as they prepared to leave the building. "Madhouse." I commented. The three of them nodded, watching as the front doors were flung open and out came a massive pouring of students. Soon the parking lot was flooded with kids.

Alice and Jasper pointed out their older brother and sister, Emmett and Rosalie. I gasped at how gorgeous Rosalie was, a walking magazine cover. I heard Gabriel laugh at my obviously normal reaction. And then Alice yelled, "Bella!!!" and a dark-haired girl, her arm wrapped around a taller boy walked over to join us. "Bella, Edward, this is Mina. Mina this is Bella and my brother Edward."

"How do you do?" Edward stuck his hand out and I shook it, noticing that it, like the others' was icy cold. I kept my thought to myself and smiled instead. "Nice to meet you," Bella said and I genuinely smiled back, she seemed just as shy as I was.

She leaned into Edward, who seemed quite content to have her in her arms and I almost sighed in envy. Edward smiled at me and nodded to the rest of them. "I've got to get Bella home, we've got an assignment due in English." They waved and made their way to a lovely and very shiny silver Volvo.

"So, am I supposed to hold you to your "I'll walk home" declaration of this morning or would you prefer a ride?" Gabriel asked me, grinning as yet another downpour began, something I was beginning to think was neverending in Forks, Washington.

I pretended to debate for a minute. "Since you put it so nicely, I'll take the ride, thanks."


	7. Chapter 7

The ride home was much better than the ride to school had been. For one thing, Gabriel actually talked. True, it wasn't about anything specific, just showing me different areas around town as we drove through it. "That's Newton's Outfitters, we do a lot of business with them, we camp a lot. That's the grocery store, there's the gas station."

"Wow. Not really a whole lot to do around here, is there?"

"No, most of us hang out in Port Angeles if we really want to find something to do. It's got the closest shops and theater nearby."

"Port Angeles huh?" I wrote that down on the edge of my notebook, I'd been doodling on the edge of the sheet the entire drive so I wouldn't simply sit and stare at Gabriel. Still found myself sneaking glimpses at him, though. He really was quite handsome.

He finally pulled into the long drive to my house and I sighed. "You ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm ok, just a bit homesick, I guess. Everything's so different here."

"Understandable. But hey, I hope you'll soon feel like THIS is home." He smiled at me and I couldn't resist smiling back.

"Thanks Gabriel." I said and smiled back.

"Call me Gabe. So…should I be here bright and early tomorrow morning?"

I grinned. "I'll look forward to it!"

I hauled my pack inside, saying hi to mom and signing to Eric before grabbing an apple and heading up to my room. I pulled out my homework and sat at my desk, turning music on low from my computer while I studied for an English quiz tomorrow on The Canterbury Tales. I was just finishing up when I heard my Mom yelling at me from downstairs. I threw my apple core into the garbage can and headed downstairs.

"Yeah, mom?"

"I've got to run to the store for a few things for dinner, can you stir the spaghetti sauce and keep an eye on Eric for me while I'm gone? I'll be twenty minutes, tops."

"Sure Mom, not a problem." I replied. She smiled and kissed me on the temple as she flew out the door to the car and I heard the engine start. I stirred the sauce and picked up Eric and danced him around the kitchen, jangling his plastic keys in front of him, sending him into a fit of giggles. A knock had me hurrying to the front door and I opened it to find Alice standing there with an older looking woman standing there, along with a blonde goddess.

"Mina!" Alice squealed and launched herself at me, hugging me. I laughed and juggled Eric to the side to hug her back. "Missed you too, Alice!" Eric reached down and patted Alice on the face. "Pretty." He signed at me. Then at the others, "Pretty. Pretty." I nodded. And then remembered my manners. "Oh Gosh, I'm sorry, please, come in!"

"This is my mother, Esme, and my sister, Rosalie." I smiled and nodded. "Nice to meet you both. I realized Esme was carrying a box and asked if I could help her with it. "Oh, it's just a chocolate layer cake. You're the new neighbors! Just consider us the welcoming committee!" Rosalie sniffed and looked annoyed.

Until Eric decided at that moment he was tired of me holding him and held out his arms to her. She looked shocked and stunned and looked at me. "You don't have to hold him." I said, as he squirmed and began to cry.

"No, no, that's ok. May I?" She seemed shy suddenly and I nodded, handing him over. She took him as though he were made of glass and sat down carefully on the couch, wrapping him in a blanket and holding him against her. Esme smiled and she and Alice followed me into the kitchen. I showed Esme where she could put the cake and I stirred the sauce again. Mom chose that moment to show up and it was soon evident that she and Esme would become good friends.

Alice and I headed back into the living room where we found Rosalie smiling as Eric signed at her. "He's telling you he thinks you're pretty." I said. I was used to having to translate for most "hearing" people who didn't know sign language. Rosalie smiled. "I know." She said and then shocked me when she began to sign back to him. "Beautiful baby."

And that's when the thought hit me. "These Cullens sure are something special."


	8. Chapter 8

For anyone who actually missed me, I have returned! It's the middle of July already. God. I've been offline since about the 10th of June and stuck downstairs in my basement apartment due to several illnesses/injuries in a row. First I caught the flu that had been going around here from my poor mom. It took me almost 3 weeks to get over that. The second week into having flu, I got gout as well and so was pretty much even more bed-bound than I had been with the flu. And then one morning after I was almost over the gout, we had a bad storm and I woke up to my dad's oxygen machine alarm going off. I tried to play "hero" and jerked out of bed to run to the stairs and make sure he was alright. Needless to say, he was fine, and I-with my wonderful luck-managed to jolt the hell out of my left kneecap which put me on crutches for a few days. Finally after a few days of feeling almost myself again, I came upstairs and then on the way back down the stairs, slipped and jolted my knee...again! There went another week and a half or so. I spent the entire time downstairs reading, watching tv and being bored out of my skull. Today is the first day in forever I've not been hurting or sick, and feel well enough to make it upstairs and check emails, check in on various websites, etc. So that is an update for anyone who actually missed me! I will be updating all my stories as soon as I possibly can.


	9. Chapter 9

Esme, Alice and Rosalie stayed for about an hour, until just before my dad got home for dinner. We told each other about our day while Eric banged on his high chair, splattering himself and everything around him with spaghetti sauce and flying noodles. When dinner was over, Dad headed to the living room, I helped Mom clear the table while she put away leftovers, fixed dad's lunch for tomorrow and began on the dishes. I picked up a very sticky, slobbery Eric and carried him upstairs for bathtime.

He giggled while I stripped him of his spaghetti-sauce stained tshirt and diaper, turning on the taps on the bathtub and filling it with warm water. I added some of Eric's soothing nighttime lavender bubblebath and his favorite floatie toys and let him splash around for a little bit before washing him down, making sure to get all the sauce and noodles out of his hair.

I picked him up out of the bathtub, wrapped him in a towel and dried him off, using my foot to flick the drain-stop out of the drain. I hummed to Eric, placing his tiny hand against my throat as I did, so that he could feel the vibration. I carried him to his room-right across from mine- and laid him on his changing table. I diapered him quickly and finished drying his hair, then took out his lavender lotion and began his bedtime ritual of of a massage with the lotion. I pulled a warm sleeper onto him, noticing that he was already beginning to droop and his eyes were getting heavy. I sat down in the rocking chair and began to rock him back and forth, still humming, his head tucked under my chin, his little ear pressed against my chest over my heart.

Within minutes he was asleep, but I stayed there for a while longer, just enjoying the peacefulness of the nighttime. I could hear dad turning off the tv downstairs and mom walking around, as they shut off the lights before coming upstairs for the night. I picked Eric up and tucked him into his crib, pulling his blanket up to his chin and tucking his favorite toy-a stuffed duck-in next to him. I turned the light off, turned on his nightlight and closed the door, leaving it a little bit open so that I would hear him if he started crying.

I got ready for bed too, stripping off my clothes and pulling on a sleepshirt. I checked my emails quickly and then crawled into bed with a new book and read a few dozen pages before my brain became fuzzy and I couldn't see the words anymore. I saw the clock read eleven and I closed the book, set the alarm and shut off the light before snuggling down into the bed. I listened to the nightime sounds around me-crickets, the wind, the steady patter of rain on the tin roof- and let them lull me to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9

I woke the next morning with a sense of well-being that hadn't been there before. I checked quickly on Eric-still asleep-before I walked to the bathroom and took my shower. I let the hot water pound down around me as I sang along with a cd and scrubbed myself squeaky clean for the day. I wrapped a towel around myself and another around my dripping-wet hair and headed back to my room to rifle through my doors for a clean outfit to wear for the day.

I finally settled on a blue sweater over a purple blouse, a pair of white-washed jeans and some black ballet flats. I combed my hair, pulling it back behind my ears and securing it with glittery black hair clips. I put on tinted moisturizer, light blush and eyeliner. I slicked on a pale coral lipgloss and felt ready to go. I rarely bothered with makeup, but then again, I rarely got to go anywhere with a hot guy like Gabriel. Even if it was just to school.

I heard Eric up and playing by himself in his crib. I walked into his room and he stood and held onto the bar of his crib and began shaking it, his way of saying, "Pick me up! I want out!" I carried him to the changing table and changed his wet diaper, quickly strapping on a new one. I pulled a pair of overalls and a oscar the grouch tshirt onto him as well as his little blue-and-white converse shoes I'd found him at Walmart. I used the soft bristle brush to brush through his soft curls and carried him downstairs.

Mom was waiting for us, cheerios spread out in a pile on Eric's high chair, as well as a small pile of raisins and peeled apple slices. I slid him into the high chair and wrapped a bib around his neck before sitting down at my place, where Mom'd been nice enough to put a plate of eggo waffles and a small container of yogurt and a glass of orange juice. She put Eric's sippy-cup down next to him, filled with apple juice and he immediately began banging it against his high chair's tray. I grinned and began eating my waffles, cutting a small piece once in a while and feeding it to Eric. He was thrilled at the sweet taste and happily began chewing and gumming it to death.

Just then the doorbell rang. Mom motioned for me to sit and went and got the door. She reappeared a few minutes later with Alice, Jasper, and Gabriel behind her. "Hi guys, I'm almost done, why don't you sit down." They all agreed and sat down, Gabriel across from me and next to Eric, who kept offering Gabriel little bits of raisins and cheerios. I was surprised when Gabriel laughed and took each offered piece and then snuck them back onto Eric's tray when I'd sneak Eric a piece of my waffles. I was soon finished and they all waited out in the car while I ran upstairs to grab my backpack.

The ride today was much different; Alice was a ray of sunshine that kept up the conversation easily. The radio was down low, but I could make out most of the songs. I nearly choked from laughing when a song came on and Alice started singing and then bullied the boys..and surprisingly, me into singing along. Luckily the song ended before we arrived at the school.

Alice and I trudged along to Math class. We were both happy when we found out that the teacher was sick and we had a substitute. The sub only cared that we were somewhat quiet, so Alice and I sat and talked about clothes designs and she was amazed when she'd describe something and watch as I began to draw it out, in detail. She tore the page out of my notebook and made me start on another sketch and another. We'd finished about fifteen sketches by the time that the bell rang and we had to go to English.

At lunch, I sat with Alice and she was showing Rosalie the sketches I'd done. Rosalie's mouth dropped open. "You're good. I mean, you're _really_ good! Why aren't you taking art classes and making money with a beginning clothing line?" She laughed.

I laughed too. "I wish. But I wouldn't have any idea how to do that. And besides, I didn't see that the school offered art classes when I was signing up for classes." I sighed softly, missing my last school's advanced art courses.

"What about an online course?" Gabriel said softly.

"I hadn't honestly thought about that either. But I'm always afraid it'll be a fraud class like one of those ones you pay money to get a "degree" but it's totally crappy and fake. I don't get enough money to waste it like that." I said and smiled, doodling on the side of my notebook again. I heard Bella oohing and ahhing as a miniature caste, complete with mote and dragon formed on the paper.

I thought I heard Gabriel say something about "will have to look into this," before the bell rang and we all scattered to the areas of the school for our next classes.


	11. Chapter 11

When school let out for the day, Alice met me at the front doors. Her father, Dr. Carlisle Cullen had dropped off his Mercedes for her use, since Edward, Jasper, Gabriel, and Emmett were leaving after school to go camping and Rosalie was going home with Esme in order to help her with some decorating project Esme had planned.

Alice drove to my house, with the windows open, letting the refreshingly brisk air inside. I let us in with my key, as Mom and Eric weren't home from their shopping yet. I left a not for Mom, letting her know that Alice and I wouldn't be home until later, and that we'd stop to eat while we were out. That way she'd know she didn't have to keep a plate warm in the oven for me if I was later than I'd thought.

Since it was a Friday, Alice and I had decided to go to Port Angeles and see a movie and do some shopping. I ran upstairs to grab my wallet and my small purse which went across my body. I stuffed my wallet, my set of keys, my cell phone and my favorite cherry-flavored lip gloss. As I hurried down the stairs, I saw Alice opening the door for my mom.

"Hey Mom, I had left a note. Alice and I are going to go to Port Angeles." I said, taking Eric from her while Alice helped carry in grocery bags. I explained to her about going to the movie and going shopping afterwards. She told us that if it got too late, I could stay at Alice's if it was alright with her parents. I smiled as I slid Eric into his playpen with his stuffed ducky and called goodbye to Mom.

Alice and I walked out to the car, and I was glad I'd grabbed my jacket as the air that had been brisk before began to gain a chill to it that I was not happy about. Alice decided on the music, pulling a large cd book from her bag and sliding an Evanescence cd into the player. We both sang along as Alice drove, barely even looking ahead at the curving road. I looked out the window as I sang, watching the trees as they flashed by. Once or twice I thought I saw a dark shadow gliding along the highway in the trees that flanked it.

Shaking my head, I just sang louder. Alice looked over at me as if wondering why I'd started singing with so much enthusiasm, but I only shrugged and just kept on singing. By the time we got to Port Angeles, I was breathless and my throat had started to hurt a little. I think I overdid it a bit with the singing. We laughed and chatted about school as we waited in line at the theater.

Suddenly I thought I heard Alice growl and I looked at her in shock and surprise. She was staring at a group of tall young men, each of them deeply tanned with black hair and dark eyes. They were staring right back at Alice and at me. "Do you know them, Alice?" I asked, feeling abruptly terrified of these young men who were looking so menacing.

"Unfortunately." She spat out. She handed me my ticket and we walked over to the concession stand. Alice only got a small soda, but I got a small popcorn with lots of butter, dots, m&ms and a large-sized fruit punch with only a little ice. Alice shook her head at the amount of calories and sugar. "That's not going to hold you for long, you know. You'll be hungry again in an hour or so."

I laughed. "I know. But I don't get to go out and enjoy treats like this very often, so I'm making the most of it. We don't eat a lot of junk food at home, so I make the most of it when I can. Besides, I'm completely healthy, never even had so much as a cavity or anything." I grinned at her and she just laughed, seeming to have forgotten those guys from earlier.

Alice and I found seats about halfway between the screen and the back of the room. We got comfortable as we waited for everyone else to find seats and for the movie to begin. I noticed the young men we'd seen earlier were playfully fighting back and forth several rows ahead of us. As if they sense my eyes on them, they turned in unison and looked back at Alice and I. I tried not to act nervous, leaning my head back and dropping a few pieces of candy into my mouth and then taking a sip of my punch.

They looked at me oddly and then looked at Alice as if disgusted by the both of us. I wondered what the hell their problem was. "Assholes." I muttered to myself. As if she'd heard me, Alice nodded and then smiled as the lights flashed, signaling that the movie was beginning. We settled back a bit more comfortably into our seats and watched the mayhem of the movie begin.

Two hours later, Alice and I were walking out of the screen room when my bladder decided it was time to release all the fluid it had been holding for the last few hours. I told Alice I was running to the bathroom quickly and she nodded saying she would go and start the car so that the heater would have it warmed by the time I got outside.

I walked into the bathroom and did my business, washed my hands and dried them before walking out of the bathroom. I shrieked as I was pinned up against a wall by strong hands. My eyes flew wide open as I saw I was surrounded by two of the young men from before. I struggled, kicking and screaming against a hard, hot hand that kept me quiet, as they talked among themselves.

"I told you she wasn't one of them, you can hear her heart beating." The youngest one said. He appeared to be about thirteen or so, his face looking worried as he looked at me.

"But why the hell would she be with one of them?" The one holding me against the wall growled at the younger boy.

I tried one last time to scream, but his hand was clamped hard over my mouth. Finally I did what every kid on the playground resorts to: I licked him. As I hoped, he'd dropped me and I tried to take off towards the area of the concession stand where someone would hopefully be that could call the cops. But the man was quicker than I had expected and I was grabbed again before I could get more than a couple steps away.

But this time I was ready and everything my dad had taught me kicked in. I kicked my foot back, connecting with his knee. He dropped me down far enough that I could continue my own assault by stomping hard on his toes. Hearing him let out a yelp, I rammed my elbow back into his solar plexus and took off for the exits, shouting in euphoria as I saw Alice there, looking terrifying.

"Mina!" She shouted. "Look out!" I looked behind me to see the tall man bearing down on me. I screamed and lashed out, sending a fist into his face. And then I was curled up on the floor screaming in pain as my whole hand throbbed.

Alice grabbed the man by his collar and pointed down at me. "Look at what you did, Jacob Black! You terrified that poor girl for nothing and now you broke her hand, just like you did Bella's." I thought I heard Alice whisper, "She doesn't know about us, Mutt!" but I wasn't sure, seeing as how all the blood was rushing to my head and I thought I was going to pass out.

Alice was suddenly a fierce commander and had them carrying me out to the Mercedes. They loaded me into the seat and pulled my seat belt around my chest, careful of me cradling my poor hand. Alice drove as quickly as she could through the pitch-black darkness, hurtling us towards her home, she explained, so that Carlisle could check her hand out to decide if she needed to go to the hospital or if he could treat me there.

I noticed that there was a pair of headlights behind us and I definitely heard Alice growl that time. "Is that them?" I asked, my voice wobbling in fear. She nodded. "Don't worry, thought, Mina. They aren't going to hurt you. Though I can't guarantee their safety when my brothers see what they did to you."

I shook my head in wonder. "I still don't know how it happened, Alice. I've always been able to fight well. My dad's an ex-marine, he taught me how to fight back, how to throw a punch. What the hell is that guy's jaw made out of, granite?"

I saw her chuckle. "His head is definitely as hard as a rock. His name's Jacob Black, his friends with him are Seth Clearwater, the other two are Quil and Embry, I'm so angry right now I can't recall their last names. They live on the Quileute reservation near Forks. There will most likely be restitution paid to you because of their attack."

"But Alice, why did they attack? They were staring at us all night long."I didn't realize until then that I was shaking. Alice put her cold hand over mine. "It wasn't anything you did, I promise you that, Mina. My family and Jake's family has had issues from way back. It doesn't help that Edward's fiancée Bella chose Edward over Jacob, either. Big sticky mess, all that. But Bella's family and we all love her and would do anything for her. The boy probably just thought they would warn you away from the influence of the Cullens." She laughed. "Idiots."

I nodded in agreement. And groaned as even that seemed to make my poor hand hurt more. We practically flew through the night and we pulled into the Cullen's drive in what seemed to be record time. The small vehicle carrying the young men pulled in behind us. Each of them looked wary, as if afraid of a fight. "Good!" I thought mercilessly. They deserved to have the crap beaten out of them for scaring me like that. And then my inner angel seemed to kick in with a forgiving, "They didn't mean to hurt and scare you. They seem scared of something themselves, forgive them, Mina."

I moved to open my door when the youngest boy, Seth, was at the door, opening it for me. He grimaced when he saw how carefully I held my hand. And I shrieked as I was unexpectedly picked up by Jacob Black and was carried to the front door of the Cullen's home. "Carlisle!" Alice shouted as she entered, Jacob carrying me inside. Carlisle was suddenly beside me, though I had no idea how he got to me so quickly.

He saw me cradling my hand and put his cold hands over mine and gently stretched my fingers out so he could see how bad the damage was. As if irritated, Jacob deposited me on the couch and he and the other boys stood as close to the open doorway as possible. "I think we're going to have to x-ray it, Mina. You might have a hairline fracture of your wrist and two of your fingers." I groaned and he helped me up. "I have an office upstairs for private clients, including the equipment to do x-rays here. Would you prefer that to going to the Emergency Room?" he asked kindly.

"Yes. The ER terrifies me, Dr. Cullen."

He nodded and started to escort me upstairs when I heard a very audible hiss of breath from Seth. "Carlisle, she has a hell of a bruise on the back of her arm, too." I turned my had to try and look down the back of my arm and was surprised, there was a big bruise blossoming on the back of my arm just above and around my elbow. I suddenly thought of how I'd used my arm to ram into Jacob's stomach and looked at them all, anger in my eyes. If I was perfectly healthy and didn't have to worry about breaking something else, I'd have ran down the stairs and pounded on him some more.

As if sensing my intentions, Carlisle ushered me up the stairs, Alice and Seth right behind us. The other boys, and I could see that they were boys now, just very large boys, stayed huddled around the doorway, as if to have a quick escape route. They tried to get Seth to come back downstairs and stay with them, but he followed us up the stairs.

Dr. Carlisle Cullen was swift and efficient. Within no time, I'd been x-rayed and after it showed that I did indeed have a fractured wrist and two of my fingers had small fractures as well. Dr. Cullen was in the middle of putting my wrist in a cast when there was a knock on the doorway. I looked up to see Gabe standing there, his eyes intent on what the doctor was doing. I smiled at him sheepishly and waved the fingers of my other hand at him.

Taking that as an ok to come in, he crossed the floor to stand at my side. Suddenly not wanting to be alone, I took his hand, twining my fingers with his chilled ones. Surprised, he looked down at my hand in his and smiled. He gently squeezed my hand and looked up into my eyes. I noticed his eyes seemed a brighter golden shade and then was distracted when his other hand flicked out to push a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

"Well, Mina, it looks like you won't be doing any punching for a while. I'll give you a prescription for some pain pills to help with the throbbing, but only if you promise me you won't abuse them." He said, looking at me with a smile on his face.

I had to laugh, I couldn't help it. "Dr. Cullen, nothing could be further from my mind. I hate taking pills and usually have to be forced to take them." I took the prescription from him. And then gasped when I heard a grandfather clock in the hallway begin to strike the hour. "It's eleven already?" I asked in astonishment. How could it be that late already?

"If you'd like, we can call your parents and tell them about the accident, and that I want to keep you here overnight in order to watch you for any problems? You won't have to explain anything just go on downstairs with Gabe and the others to have some fun. I have a feeling after the evening you've had that you need it. If you'd like, you can spend the entire weekend. Bella will be staying as well, it had already been arranged with Alice. We have no problem having you over as well. You would be quite the welcome addition." He said.

Thrilled with the prospect, I simply nodded. "That would be amazing, thank you, Dr. Cullen."

"Call me Carlisle." He said with an even bigger smile.

"Carlisle then." I said and smiled back. Gabriel helped me down off the table and we walked downstairs. Bella and Edward were curled up together on the couch. I saw that Seth was sitting beside Edward, not seeming to have a single compunction about being there. I wondered for a moment where the others had gone and then decided that I really didn't care. I sat down on the loveseat, Gabe sitting on the cushion beside me, as I leaned back, I practically was leaning against him. As if without thinking about it, his arm came around my shoulders and pulled me close to him.

I had to laugh as I realized what was going on. Emmett, the giant teddy bear, was standing in the middle of the room, eyes on the television screen, holding a microphone. I laughed as I realized they were doing karaoke. Emmett was belting out the lyrics to "I'm Sexy and I Know It" and had us in hysterics from laughing so hard. Bella and I looked at each other and "awww"ed when Edward took the microphone and sang Bryan Adams' "Everything I Do, I Do It For You."

I fully admit to being terrified when it was my turn. I flipped through the list of songs and found a cache of Disney tunes. I smiled when I found my favorite and began to sing the words to "Reflection" from the movie Mulan. I closed my eyes as I sang, I knew it by heart, it still is one of my favorite movies. When the song ended I opened my eyes and blushed when I saw everyone's eyes wide and their mouths open. "Mina, you're REALLY good!" Bella exclaimed. The others nodded.

"Um…thanks." I blushed harder and passed the microphone off to Alice who started singing a Taylor Swift song. As I sat down I had to laugh as I saw her yank Jasper up to sing "Love Story". Gabriel cuddled me against him again and I did my best not to sigh in pure happiness. I didn't realize that I was so tired, because I woke up only when Gabriel was carrying me up to a bedroom and putting me down on the bed. I was barely conscious as he pulled my shoes off my feet and pulled the blankets up and over me. I thought I heard him whisper my name as I slid into dreams.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 11

When I woke the next morning, the fog was thick around the house. It felt wonderful to snuggle under the thick blankets and I sighed softly, thinking of what an interesting day yesterday had been. If nothing else, Forks had definitely proved to be interesting. Thinking of Forks led me to thinking of Gabe. I blushed bright red as I wondered if he was interested in me, or if he was just being friendly. I was probably thinking too much of his arm around me, of him carrying me to bed. I pulled the blanket over my head and groaned in irritation. I flexed my hand and was happy for two things: one-it didn't hurt nearly as bad as I feared, probably due to the pain meds Carlisle had given me the night before; and two-at least it wasn't my writing/drawing hand.

And yelped when there was a knock at the door. I heard Esme's soft voice call out and so I quickly said "Come in." She smiled at me and explained that it was almost ten in the morning and that breakfast was ready. "Oh, and Alice left some clothes there on the chair for you." She said, pointing at a pile of clothes neatly folded on a chair that sat beside the window, looking out onto the river.

I smiled and thanked her, and she left. I threw the blankets back and began to undress, hoping that the clothes would be the right size. I was astonished when the fit exactly right, since Alice was a few inches shorter than I was. Maybe they were Rosalie's clothes. I shivered at that thought. Rosalie kind of terrified me and I wasn't sure how she'd take to me wearing her clothes. But then I thought about how taken with her Eric was and how patiently Rosalie had been with him, playing with him for hours at a time. And she had been nice to me the few times we'd had any real conversations. I made myself promise that I would try very hard to like Rosalie.

I looked in the mirror and shuddered at my bed head. I laughed when I saw that on the chair beside the clothes there was a mirror and even a toothbrush. "Bless you, Alice." I said softly and walked across the hall barefoot into the bathroom. I took care of emptying my bladder and after washing my hands, I got to work on my hair. After several minutes of pulling through tangles, it was finally free of snarls and I braided it and let it hang down my back. I blinked in surprise when I saw a pill bottle with my name on it sitting on the nightstand, certain it hadn't been there when I went to sleep. I took one of the pills, hoping that it's side effects wouldn't be too brutal.

When I entered the kitchen, I was a bit surprised when I saw that only Bella was sitting at the table. She smiled at me. "They'd all been up since early and had eaten then. It's just you and me now." She said, pushing a plate piled with food at me. I moaned when I saw scrambled eggs with American cheese, strips of bacon, links of breakfast sausage, buttered blueberry muffins, hash brown potatoes and buttered toast. "Dear god, how do they stay so thin eating like this?" I whispered, but Bella heard me anyways and laughed.

"They don't eat like this at all. This is a guests-only meal, just for us. Esme is nothing if not the consummate hostess. She's truly amazing. And I think they all like you, too." Bella smiled and took a big bite of her eggs. Happy with this news, I began to eat too. Each and every bite was more delicious than the last and I couldn't believe it when both Bella and I finished everything on our plates. Bella and I talked as we walked out onto the massive front porch and laughed when we saw Gabriel, Emmett and Edward being bossed around by Alice and Esme, helping to paint a small building.

"What's this?" I asked. Esme smiled and motioned me over. She pointed at the largest lawn mower I'd ever seen. "Emmett's newest toy." She laughed. "I made him promise that if he got it, he had to rebuild and repaint the old shed so it would have it's own place of honor. Now I actually wonder how often I'll be able to get him to mow the lawn, rather than just doing 360's on it in the middle of the yard." I had to laugh, because I could completely see Emmett sitting there in the middle of their yard going in tight circles until he was dizzy.

"Is there anything I can help with, Esme?"I asked her. She looked surprised and then smiled. "As a matter of fact, there is, dear. Alice and Rosalie were telling me about how you have a wonderful skill for drawing. Would you be willing to help me with a concept drawing for a small project? I'm willing to pay you, of course."

I think my jaw dropped in surprise. "You…you want to pay me for doing a drawing for you?" I stuttered.

Now she laughed. "Of course, dear. Do you know how much I'd have to pay an architect? And besides, even if I did, he'd be wanting to throw all of his own ideas in, when I have my own thoughts on what I'd want the building to look like. Now, is that a yes? If you have a bank account, I could easily transfer the money into your account." She said so matter of factly that I was nodding before I realized it. "Wonderful!" She exclaimed. "You boys know what you're doing now, right?" She called to them.

"Yes, Esme. And if they don't I'll yell at them." Alice said, making both Bella and I laugh. I smiled as I watched Bella sit on the porch steps watching the boys. "Where's Jasper, Alice?" I asked.

As if surprised I'd remembered him, she smiled at me. "He's gone with Carlisle to the hospital today, he's thinking of going to medical school. He'll be back later."

I smiled, Jasper seemed like such a nice guy. "Tell him I said hi if I've left before he gets here." She nodded.

Esme took my hand in her cold one, and I steeled myself not to shiver. I wondered if bad circulation ran in their family. Or maybe they all had some strange heart disease and Carlisle and Esme had adopted kids that no one else would want. That just put them higher in esteem in my eyes. I followed Esme into a large, open studio room off the living room. It was brightly lit by tall windows that were easily eight feet or higher. "Wow, this is beautiful!" I said.

"Thank you, dear. Now, please make yourself comfortable. Is there any type of paper you prefer? We've got several." She said, motioning toward a stack of drawing notebooks and boxes of the finest-quality drawing pencils I'd ever seen. "Wow!" I whispered and reached over to take one of the pristine tablets and several of the sharpened pencils. I kept my still very sore hand close to my chest, glad that I was ambidextrous. I sat down in a large comfortable chair and waited as Esme began to describe the building she wanted. I bent over the tablet, closing my eyes as she spoke.

"It will be almost a small house, more like an apartment, but I want it to blend in with this house. Maybe a Victorian styling with lots of gingerbread elements, I think. Windows complete with working shutters and window boxes. It will need three rooms-I assume you can do above, front, and back views?-bedroom, bathroom and a kitchen/living room area."

I nodded, acknowledging I could do all those views, as my fingers began to grip the pencil, sketching quickly, drawing in the window boxes. I imagined them frothing over with ivy and morning glories, in the other window box, herbs for cooking. I imagined the front of the house in white clapboard siding, beautiful wooden gingerbread elements twisting and turning, cascading from the eaves of the roof. I smiled as I sketched in a fireplace, even though Esme hadn't mentioned one. I could almost see it, cozy and blazing on one of the cold nights that would surely be coming soon.

I finished the front drawing, looking up as I handed it to Esme. Her eyes seemed to shine brightly as she took in the small house. "Oh, now that's wonderful, Mina. Now for the top view, as I said before, three rooms. The bedroom will have a large closet. The bathroom will have a sunken tub, glass enclosed shower, double sinks and a linen closet. Now-" A sudden knock on the door had us both looking up. Carlisle stood at the doorway with a grim look on his face. "Mina, we have some visitors, they want to see you."

I immediately dropped the pencil and began to have a panic attack. I was absolutely certain it was those boys again. As if seeing my distress, though the full panic attack wasn't in full swing yet, Carlisle was almost instantly beside me. "Are you alright, Mina? You don't have to do this right now. We can ask them to come back later when your parents are here and you feel more ready for it." He said, his cool hand stroking my brow and my hair. It was really sweet and I felt the panic attack start to lessen it's choking hold on me. I began to breathe normally again.

"No…no, I want to get this done with. I don't know why the attacked me yesterday, but I don't want to be afraid of them anymore. Alice said there would be reparations made? I don't understand." I looked up at him and he seemed mystified.

"Basically one of the tribe's elders, Billy Black, is going to talk to you. He will ask you in detail about what happened. If he feels that the boys acted wrongly, the tribe will make payment in a form you are comfortable with, be it money or services performed by the boys. They know you just moved here, they're probably hoping you'll make them pick up your yard for a certain amount of hours." Carlisle said, laughing softly. I smiled at him, but could still feel my heart pounding hard against my ribs. I really DIDN'T want to do this, but I did want it over and done with. Carlisle held out his hand and I took it, standing up and walking with him. I heard Esme behind us and felt stronger when I felt her hand gentle on my shoulder. I stepped out the front door and was rather surprised to see all of the Cullens there, including Jasper.

Suddenly I felt a swirl of calm energy flow over me, making my panic attack cease, and making me feel more confident. I suddenly noticed that Emmett, Jasper, Gabe and Edward were all lined up in front of the party of young Quileute men and an older man in a wheelchair. Alice and Rosalie were standing on either side of the stairs like sentries as well. Bell was the only one on the porch, standing in front of one of the rails.

I took a deep breath and stepped out from under Esme's hand and let go of Carlisle's hand. I went down the stairs slowly, my mind swirling with fear and what if's. But I held my ground, standing straight and tall when I stood in front of Billy Black's wheelchair. I looked into his dark eyes and was surprised by how kind and wise they were. "Hello." I said softly.

He nodded to me. "You're Mina?" He asked and I nodded in response. His eyes took in the cast around my wrist and hand. He grimaced and almost, well, glared at the young man closest to him. I gritted my teeth when I realized it was the one who'd grabbed me yesterday, who I'd hit. My hand suddenly seemed to throb worse and I pulled it to my chest, holding it there with my other hand as I looked up into his eyes, surprised that the seemed to be filled with pain and not arrogance today. I watched as his eyes suddenly strayed towards Bella and then down to the ground.

"May I see your hand, child?" Billy Black was talking to me again. I carefully held my hand out to him, he took it gently in his and turned it back and forth. "Tell me how this happened." He said sharply.

I would have sworn I heard growling from both sides until one of the young men shouted "That's enough!" and everyone went quiet. I turned a little when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back to see Gabriel had moved behind me, his hand on my shoulder, as if to steady me. His golden eyes seemed suddenly fierce and I smiled at him.

"Alice and I had decided to go and see a movie and then we were going to go and do some shopping. We'd gathered our drinks and snacks and were sitting. We saw some of those boys sitting a few rows away, they kept looking back at us. I ignored them and we watched the movie. When it was over, I went to the restroom. When I came out, he grabbed me and pinned me against the wall." I said, pointing to Jacob. He had the decency to look uncomfortable. I felt cool fingers slide between mine and looked down to see Gabriel's fingers entwined in my own.

Billy looked strangely unhappy, but I wasn't sure if it was because I'd just ID'd his son or because Gabriel had taken my hand, I wasn't sure. I continued, "Seth, he told Jacob that I had a heart beat and wasn't 'one of them.' Jacob had his hand clamped over my mouth so I licked him to get him to let me go. When he did, I ran for the concession stand to try and get them to call the cops. He caught up with me and tried to grab me again, so I stomped on his foot and jabbed my elbow into his gut and he let me go again. I ran to Alice and he tried to grab me again, so I punched him. He broke my hand." I stated, glad that this part, at least, was done. I didn't realize that I was shaking like a leaf.

"Don't forget the bruise on your arm," Seth said helpfully, gaining a collective groan from the rest of them. Seth continued to speak up. "Jake was wrong here and you know it, guys. He scared her to death. Look at her, she's still scared. You were wrong, Jake and you know it!" he said, glaring at Jacob. Jacob just looked more and more humiliated and uncomfortable.

Billy finally sighed and shook his head. "Seth's right, Jacob, boys." He looked at me and continued. "There will be restitution paid. It is your right now to ask us in whichever form you wish. It can be money, goods, or services."

I shifted uncomfortably. "Can I think about it for a little while?" I asked softly.

Billy nodded. "But for now, there is a truth. We'll stay out of your way, Carlisle, and your group will stay out of ours. Make it easier on everyone all around." Carlisle nodded in agreement. Billy gave me a card with his phone number, a number for Sam Uley's and a cellular number for Sam as well. "If you decide, or need anything, call those numbers, someone will get ahold of me or Sam immediately." I smiled and nodded, reaching out with my good hand to shake his.

He smiled, his eyes becoming brighter as he shook my hand. Each of the boys in turn shook my hand as well, and I was surprised by how hot their hands were. Must be a tribal thing, I thought, though Billy's hadn't seemed quite as warm. Finally they all climbed into the back of a truck, Jacob lifting his father into the passenger seat, folding the wheelchair and putting it in back. He climbed into the driver's seat and pulled away from the Cullen house.

"Well, now that that's finally over, how about we finish those drawings, Mina?' Esme said, as though trying to put it behind us as quickly as possible. Edward, Emmett, and Jasper headed around back to finish the painting of the shed. Carlisle headed up to his office. Rosalie and Alice went back with the boys to instruct and harass them. Bella went to watch. I was surprised when I realized Gabriel was still by my side.

He smiled at me and helped me up the stairs, as I was still a bit off balance without being able to use my hand so well. Ambidexterity didn't help balance much, it seemed. Gabriel sat in the chair next to mine, watching every move I made as I continued sketching for Esme. When we had finally finished, she was very pleased. "Yes, yes, they're perfect. These will do wonderfully. Next time you come, maybe we'll work on garden patterns. I've always wanted to do an old style English garden, and now that Emmett has that giant toy of his, I can do a large garden in the back yard." She walked to the enormous bookshelf and plucked a book off of it. "Would you be willing to look through this dear, it might help us both with ideas for next time?" She asked, handing the book to me. It was a large book about English style gardens and plants.

"Of course Esme, I'll look forward to it." I said truthfully. I was shocked when she handed me $300. "For your time and effort dear."

"But this is way too much money, Esme!" I said, astonished at her generosity. I tried to some of it back to her, but she simply shook her head, smiled and walked out of the room, leaving me there holding a fistful of money and looking surprised.

"You won't win, you might as well just take it," Gabriel stated.


End file.
